Creamy Lemon Pasta

Lemon lovers will swoon over this easy pasta dish, a tempting tangle of tender fettuccine in a creamy and citrusy sauce. Though it’s definitely a cousin of fettuccine Alfredo, the tart lemon flavor, bolstered by parsley and garlic, cuts through the richness of the cream-cheese-based sauce. Pops of fresh tomato folded in at the end keep it feeling light and summery, despite the richness. One distinctive addition to this recipe is a finishing dusting, sort of like a gremolata, of raw, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest and parsley that layers loads of flavor echoing that in the sauce.

It’s an infinitely adaptable pasta recipe wherein cooked chicken, shrimp or scallops would be welcome additions, and you could easily add more vegetables too.

Ingredients for Creamy Lemon Pasta

• Lemon zest and juice: The one-two punch of lemon zest and juice adds loads of lemon flavor to the sauce. Adding some of the zest to an uncooked topping sprinkled on at the end preserves its fresh lemon essence.
• Parsley: Parsley has a grassy, herbaceous flavor that suits the citrus aroma of this dish. We incorporate it both into the sauce and add fresh chopped parsley to an uncooked sprinkle that finishes the dish.
• Garlic: Cooking garlic into the lemon cream sauce gives it a pleasant savory note, while adding the finishing sprinkle of raw garlic in the lemon-zest topping adds a spicy zing of fresh garlic flavor.
• Fettuccine: Delicate strands of fettuccine—a wide, thin egg-based pasta essential to the cuisine of Rome—is lovely in this creamy lemon-garlic pasta recipe. You can substitute spaghettini, linguine or tagliatelle.
• Butter and onions: Starting the sauce for this pasta dish with onions sauteed in butter establishes a foundation of sweet, rich flavor.
• Heavy whipping cream and cream cheese: Adding a duo of creamy ingredients gives a velvety texture to the creamy lemon garlic pasta sauce. The cream cheese melts and the heavy cream brings everything together. By combining the two, the sauce is quite stable and not likely to separate. If you have it, you can use mascarpone cheese in place of the cream cheese.
• Plum tomatoes: The chopped plum tomatoes, folded into the sauce along with the pasta at the very end, don’t cook long enough to break down. They add pleasant pops of sweet, summery flavor.
• Grated Parmesan cheese: Whereas Parmesan cheese is an essential ingredient in Alfredo sauce, a final sprinkle before serving is optional in this creamy lemon pasta recipe. Don’t skip it though; it adds a nutty, savory flavor.

Directions 

Step 1: Make the lemon-garlic topping

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In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest, parsley and garlic.

Step 2: Cook the pasta

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Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions, then drain it and set it aside.

Editor’s Tip: Save a mug of pasta water. You can drizzle it into the pasta and sauce to adjust the texture, if need be.

Step 3: Make the lemon sauce

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In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, then cook and stir for two to three minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and lemon zest, then cook for one minute longer. Stir in the cream, salt and pepper. Whisk in the cream cheese until it’s melted. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool slightly, then stir in the lemon juice.

Step 4: Add the pasta, tomatoes and parsley

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Add the pasta, tomatoes and parsley to the skillet with the lemon sauce, and toss to combine. Serve the pasta immediately, topped with the lemon-zest mixture and, if desired, Parmesan cheese.

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Creamy Lemon Pasta Variations

• Add some protein: Add cooked chicken, scallops, shrimp, salmon or a drained can of cannellini beans to give this lemony pasta a little more staying power.
• Add more vegetables: You can bulk up this pasta by adding sliced and sauteed zucchini or yellow squash along with the onion, or baby spinach, frozen peas or artichoke hearts just to warm through at the end. All suit the lemon and garlic flavors of the sauce very well.
•  Swap out the parsley: Though we love parsley’s grassy sharpness in this dish, fresh basil also pairs beautifully with lemon and garlic. Trade out the parsley for chopped fresh basil in both the sauce and the garlic sprinkle to give this pasta dish a summery aroma.

How to Store Creamy Lemon Pasta

Once it has cooled, store leftover creamy lemon pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Store any remaining lemon-garlic topping in a separate container, also in the refrigerator.

How do you reheat creamy lemon pasta?

You can microwave creamy lemon pasta to reheat it, or rewarm it in a skillet over medium heat. The pasta may have absorbed some of the liquid from the sauce, so feel free to splash in a spoonful or two of water to adjust the texture as needed. Sprinkle the remaining lemon-garlic topping on top.

Creamy Lemon Pasta Tips

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Do you need to add salt to the pasta cooking water?

Yes. We recommend adding salt to the pasta cooking water to create flavorful pasta. Grab your measuring spoons and add about 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt for every pound of pasta. Learn more about how to salt pasta water the right way.

How do you prevent your cooked pasta from sticking together?

Be sure to cook your pasta in enough salted water and stir it often as it cooks so it can move around. When cooking and draining it ahead of time, before making your sauce, consider adding a couple drops of olive oil to the colander with the pasta and gently tossing it together. It’s better than a wad of pasta, but this step can make it more difficult to integrate your sauce and pasta layer. It’s best to time your cooking so you’re ready to combine the noodles with the sauce as soon as they come out of the boiling water. Even if you’re cooking it ahead of time, you don’t want the pasta to be cold when you add it to the sauce, otherwise it won’t absorb the flavor of the sauce as well. For more, check out our guide on how to cook pasta.

What’s the best way to zest a lemon for creamy lemon garlic pasta sauce?

Here are our favorite ways to zest lemons. Whichever you choose, zest the lemons before juicing them, since it’s challenging to zest a cut lemon.